Girls Basketball Player of the Year

Apr. 8, 2011

Taylor Kramer / John David Emmett/news-press.com

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Taylor Kramer knew the local high school basketball community didn’t think much about the Bishop Verot girls basketball team’s prospects for the 2010-11 season.

After all, the defending District 3A-12 champion Vikings lost five players to graduation, including All-Area Player of the Year Katlyn Payne, who led the team in 14 offensive categories and accounted for 43 percent of the team’s scoring.

The Vikings would also have a new coach — Taylor’s father, Mark Kramer — a first-time high school basketball coach.

As Bishop Verot’s lone senior, Kramer recognized she had to improve her level of play for the Vikings to avoid the dreaded “rebuilding season.”

Kramer delivered, leading Bishop Verot in scoring (14.5 points per game), 3-pointers made (26), rebounds (7.5 rpg) and steals (3.1 spg) as the Vikings captured their second consecutive district title.

“My main goal was to make sure my senior year was not a rebuilding year,” Kramer said. “I think our team stepped up big time.”

Aside from her statistical contributions, Kramer — a team co-captain — also demonstrated a greater level of leadership, constantly supporting her younger teammates.

“Any time I was down, the rest of the team was down,” she said. I had to make sure to always be positive and show a confidence level they could follow.”

That leadership paid off in the District 3A-12 championship game against top-seeded Dunbar when Kramer had to sit out after spraining her ankle in the tournament semifinals.

“Sitting there on the bench I got a different experience,” she said. “I really got to watch just how much our team had improved over the season.”

The Vikings beat Dunbar 45-42 and won their opening round state playoff game before falling to Bradenton Southeast 67-65 in triple overtime in the regional semifinals.

In that loss, Kramer scored 19 points — surpassing the 1,000-point plateau in her four-year varsity career with the Vikings.

“I’m going to miss the friendships we built and all the memories we had,” said Kramer of her time at Bishop Verot.

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“Basketball has definitely shaped me as a person. I fell in love with the game my freshman year. There’s not one aspect of the game that I don’t love.”

First team

CONNIE DEAN• Canterbury• Junior• Guard• The 5-foot-7 Dean helped the Cougars reach the state playoffs for the first time in 10 years. A team captain, she led Canterbury is scoring (15.8 points per game), rebounding (7.5) steals (5), assists (2.5) and blocked shots (0.7).

ERIKA MCKENZIE• Cypress Lake• Senior• Guard• A three-year varsity captain, the 5-foot-8 McKenzie averaged 13 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists per game for the Panthers. During her four-year varsity career, Cypress Lake went 81-28 and won three district titles.

Coach of the year

TOM KANE• Estero• In his second season with the Wildcats, the 55-year-old Kane led Estero to the first girls basketball district championship in school history. The Wildcats finished just 15-15, but upset Fort Myers and Cypress Lake to claim its historic title.